Helping you live a healthy life with a chronic condition

Learning to lead the "Living a Healthy Life" workshop is not hard!

You can be part of an exciting community initiative to prevent and better manage chronic diseases within our health system. Interested community members, typically volunteers, can train to deliver the "Living a Healthy Life with Chronic Conditions" workshop. Both the workshop and the training course have been designed and tested by the Stanford University Patient Education Research Center.


Volunteer Peer Leader Training is a free 4-day process.

Trainees are required to attend all four days of the Leader Training. Volunteer Peer Leaders may be health care providers or lay people, and usually have first-hand experience of living with chronic conditions themselves. Where possible, we prefer that Trainees have completed the "Living a Healthy Life" Workshop as a participant before training as a leader.


Leaders often register for the training in pairs, since all self-management workshops are co-facilitated by two leaders working together.

We ask health care providers that are sending a staff member for training to also send a person who is living with a chronic condition.We can accommodate only 12-25 trainees in each training session, so space is limited. Lunch and refreshments for the day will be provided.

Each Volunteer Peer Leader receives a FREE Leader's Manual and a copy of the “Living a Healthy Life” reference book.

Where possible, we prefer that Trainees have completed the "Living a Healthy Life" Workshop as a participant before training as a leader.


The application process will include:

  1. Submitting the Volunteer Application Form: NEW - DiabetesSMP Peer Leader Application form, or NEW - CDSMP Peer Leader Application form, or BBC Peer Leader Application form
  2. An interview in person or by telephone 
  3. A signed commitment to:
    - Honour responsibilities as a Peer Leader.
    - Adhere to the policies of the Central LHIN including a 'pledge of confidentiality' and a 'code of conduct'. 
  4. Submitting evidence of a valid Police Reference Check. 

The above volunteer recruitment procedures are standard practice and help to promote a safe environment for self-management workshop participants and fellow Peer Leaders.

 

 

 

 

"This program made me aware that there is a common denominator for many health conditions. As a result of this class I feel better prepared to help myself and reach my goals."